Guardian
by Crystal Rose6
Summary: The mystery behind Sailorpluto's past life is unraveled in this tale of trial and error, love and hate, and how one woman had to come to grips with her ultimate destiny...


"Guardian," by Crystal Rose

DISCLAIMER: "_Sailorpluto, or any of the other senshi for that matter, do not belong to me and are property of Naoko Takeuchi. However, the contents of this story, along with a few made-up characters, are explicitly me own ideas and I'd appreciate it if no one would try to make them or the story itself. If you are borrowing parts of the tale to post on your site, please ask permission in advance. Thank you." ~ Crystal Rose_

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, this is a first attempt at a fanfic, so please bear with me! ^_^ Although I'm not quite ready to begin the story yet, I thought I'd write a quick summary of what the story is to cover (btw, "Guardian" is only a temporary title until I can come up with something better :P). I noticed how just about every Senshi has been given a back-story be fanauthors, whether it portrays their romantic relationship with the generals or simply tells about the events that occurred in their past lives. However, there don't appear to be very many tales about what Sailorpluto's life was life during the Silver Millennium. (Can you guess what my story is about now?)

Synopsis: The planets are at a time of peace, and the universe is governed by Queen Selenity and protected by the members of her court. The "members," however, are all kings and queens of their own planets, respectively. There are celebrations nearly every night, each taking place at various palaces that have recently been constructed for each planet; however, this particular story will open amidst a gala held in jubilation of the newborn infant from the coldest region of the galaxy and whose destiny would be forever fixed due to a promise she would make to the High Queen years into her youth. This is the tale of the benevolent yet somewhat bitter woman shrouded in mystery, yet linked to time and space, and the events that would shape her into who, or what rather, is known as the "Garnet Guardian."

And just for the heck of it, here's a little teaser that will hopefully pique your interest into further investigating my story, "Guardian:"

* * *

The smoke, which constantly changed from almost sickening hues of green and blue, shifted and seemed to pulsate against her lithe body as the Princess of Pluto cautiously made her way through the miasma. '_I can't believe this,' _she fumed as the fog thickened and her breath briefly quickened in panic, causing her throat and lungs to feel extremely bloated. _'How dare he do this to me!'_

Vaguely, she recalled her father's words:

_'If you are truly meant to possess the Right to Govern Time and Space; If you are destined to become the Guardian of the Gates etched on the plane between life and death, then, and only then, will you be able to harness the full potential of the Plutonian Royal Family's most sacred weapon, the Garnet Orb, and earn the name of the Crimson Oracle.'_

Recalling those somewhat harsh, yet stern words spoken to her only hours ago, the princess became even more infuriated. This was her father! The only man she had been able to place her full faith in all of these years, and now he had summoned her to the Hall of Divination only to arm her with a necklace, or "a weapon of sovereign power," as her father had called it, and throw her into this strange place so that she may demonstrate whether she is the true Senshi of Pluto, seemingly unmoving as to the fact that this very "demonstration," as he had so tactfully named it, could mean his only daughter's demise!

The young woman's dark brows furrowed, and her rose-stained lips were now jutted out in her usual pouting expression. _'This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of this side of the Galaxy, and I could've sworn I of all people, being the princess of the coldest planet in the region and of strange things in general, had heard everything by now!'_

The memories of her childhood suddenly came flying back to her, and the realization of what she had had to endure all those years made her frosty eyes soften. Princess Pluto remembered, when she appeared only in the single-digits of her years, how lonely she would become. There weren't that many people living on Pluto at the time, meaning there was not really anyone around with whom she could spend time with. Instead, she had busied herself with studying the odd designs strewn so haphazardly over the hundreds of walls that lined the many rooms and corridors in Charon Castle. She discovered she had a love of art, particularly of fancy designs, and often stole parchment from her father's study to draw upon, whole-heartedly trying to mimic the mysterious yet beautiful shapes she grew up around.

Occasionally, her mother, the Queen of Pluto, would either invite other children over, all of noble blood, to play with her in hopes that she would make friends. However, her kind-hearted and noble mother's intentions were usually met with disappointment; the other young ladies thought of the little girl from Pluto as rather odd at most. Besides, Princess Pluto always thought of the other children as snobbish and extremely boring, as most of them had already become puppets of the court, and the "spitting image" of the duds who instructed them no doubt in etiquette and other such necessities that aristocracy required. 

The only people that made Princess Pluto feel like she actually had a place in this vast universe were the other tiny crown-toting tikes from the other main heavenly bodies; but, she felt closest to the princesses of Neptune and Uranus. This was not so much due to the fact that they were nearer in age; it was partly because the three girls shared similar interests, not to mention a taste for the "wild, unknown, and slightly dangerous." 

Pluto chuckled faintly as she thought of all the various pranks that the "three stooges" had committed, each joke deemed as brilliant by themselves but as extremely annoying to each poor victim that had to undertake their impish antics. 

Another change in the air pressure of wherever she was charged through the indigo ceremonial robes that were wrapped loosely around her figure, and she was violently made aware of her surroundings once more. 

Struggling for air, she paused and clutched the silver pendant at her chest, and drove her fingers over its glossy surface. Every edge and curve comforted her, as it _was _the very symbol for her purpose in life; it was a tiny key, carved from some ancient substance that had the durability of steel yet the soft, shimmering appearance of pearl. Supposedly, it possessed great power, or at least, that is what all of her tutors, not to mention the rumors surrounding the Plutonian Court, had drilled into her head for the last 3, 472 years of her life (Pluto completes one orbit cycle every 248 years, so 248 years means that Plutonians have aged one year; therefore, Princess Pluto appears to be only around 14). 

_'How in the Underworld am I supposed to_ _harness this thing's capabilities if I have no idea how to awaken this "great power" to begin with!' _she thought miserably as she plodded on toward what she felt like was certain, inevitable doom. 

At the moment she began to feel like the air around her was thinning out, it quickly took the opposite coarse of direction; instead, it turned brutally heavy. 

Princess Pluto jerked her head back and forth, craning her straining neck in every direction in hopes of freeing herself from the rough grasp the air, or some other force, seemed to have of her. _'It's going to strangle me!' _she thought frantically, thoughts reeling through her confused mind. 

The swelling in her throat became tighter, and she lunged forward in an attempt to free herself, but only succeeded in plumaging toward the ground instead. As she slammed hard against the icy feel of the stone-like floor, a breathful of air rushed out of her lungs. She now felt like her chest would collapse. _'I must…do…something…' _she mustered. _'But what?'_

Feeling absolutely helpless, and little more than clueless, the princess began to succumb to the darkness that tugged at her weakening strength, the once surging pain now only a dull ache. 

"Father…" 

Her tiny, raspy voice was cruelly swallowed up by the mist as she tried to remain conscious. 

"How…could…you…?" she muttered, her lids becoming heavy, as if they were being pulled down by weights. "What…am I…supposed to…do…?" 

The last fragments of air escaped her parched lips as she drifted off into a deep slumber…

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well? Are you interested? Was the scene too heavy? This scene, of course, will take place later in the story; however, it was the only scene that came easily for me to right first off, so I thought I'd begin with it just to give you guys a taste of what's to come. I hope to have the beginning of "Guardian" posted soon. Please keep checking back for updates! Thank you and comments are always welcome. 

                                                                                                      ~ _Crystal Rose_


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